Mari Nakamura doesn't have a desk at the university anymore. Please send an email if you want to contact her. The above mentioned telephone number is the number of the secretariat.

More information about Mari Nakamura

Fields of interest

Political thought, (Japanese) visual culture, literature and language.

PhD research

Emancipation in Postmodernity: Political Thought in Japanese Science Fictional Animation
Supervisors: Chris Goto-Jones and Florian Schneider

My PhD research project studies the intersections between animation and political thought. Specifically, it explores the ways in which the philosophical notion of ‘emancipation’, along with its related concepts such as ‘domination’ and ‘resistance’, have been conceptualised in Japanese science fictional animation. Considering animation as an expressive medium, and science fiction as a locus of thought experiments, the project seeks to examine how animation can develop and deploy various innovative ideas about the future of politics, and aims to identify its grammar of expression. The project explores alternatives to contemporary methods of studying political thought in popular culture.

Part of the VICI project by Chris Goto-Jones:
Beyond Utopia - New Politics, the Politics of Knowledge and the Science Fictional Field of Japan

Curriculum vitae

Education

• Ph.D. student in Leiden University, The Netherlands (since 2010)
• M.A. in Linguistics, Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
• B.A. in English, Department of English, Fukuoka University, Japan
• Exchange student to the Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, University of Leeds, UK

Related Employment

• Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, Taiwan (2016)
• Adjunct Lecturer, School of History, Culture and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2015)
• Adjunct Lecturer, Leiden University College The Hague, The Netherlands (2013)
• Project Translator, The Modern East Asia Research Centre, Leiden University (2010)
• English-Japanese Translator, Booking.com b.v., Amsterdam (2009-2010)
• Japanese Language Instructor, National Tsing Hua University Language Center, Taiwan (2001-2003)
• Research Assistant, Graduate Institute of Philosophy, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (2001-2003)

Grants and Awards

• Taiwan Fellowship (2015)
• Leiden University four-year full PhD funding (2010-2014)
• ROC (Republic of China, Taiwan) Ministry of Education scholarship (1999, 2001-2002)
• Association of International Education Japan (AIEJ) scholarship (1996-1997)

Qualifications and Skills

• Teaching Certificate of English at Junior and Senior High-School levels in Japan
• Language Certificate in Mandarin, Mandarin Training Center, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Languages
Japanese (native), English, Mandarin

Teaching

• ‘Globalisation: The Rise of Emerging Economies’ (10EC, 200/300-level BA course, co-taught), Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Spring 2015)
• ‘World Cinema’ (100-level BA course, guest lecture on anime), Leiden University, The Netherlands (Spring 2015)
• ‘The Politics of Visual and Graphic Culture’ (5EC, 200-level BA course, co-taught), Leiden University, The Netherlands (Spring 2013)
• Japanese Language (various levels), National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (2001-2003)

Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Article

' Japanese Science Fiction in Converging Media: Alienation and Neon Genesis Evangelion'. Asiascape Occasional Paper Series Issue 6. pp. 1-16 (2013) [online publication] (co-authored with Carl Li and Martin Roth)

‘Translation or Transformation? A Case Study of Language and Ideology in the Taiwanese Press’. Discourse & Society 16:3. pp. 393-417 (2005) (co-authored with Sai-hua Kuo)

Degree Thesis

‘Ideology in the News: A Critical Discourse Analysis of News Reporting in Taiwan’s Two Newspapers’. M.A. thesis submitted to National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (2003)

Conference Paper/Presentation

‘Dialectic of Utopia: Visualising Future Politics in the Anime Psycho-Pass’. Conference paper presented at the Safety and Disaster in Japanese Popular Culture after Fukushima Workshop, Leiden University, Leiden, June 2015.

‘Dialectic of Utopia: Visualising Future Politics in the Anime Psycho-Pass’. Conference paper presented at the Asiascape: Digital Asia International Conference, Leiden University, Leiden, January 2014.

‘Politics Animated: Transhumanity and Hybridity in Appleseed’. Conference paper presented at the 3 ^rd Mechademia Conference, Dongguk University, Seoul, November 2012.

‘Utopia and Political Thoughts in Japanese Sci-Fi Animation’. Conference paper presented at the 1 ^st annual LIAS PhD and Postdoc Conference, Leiden University, May 2012.

‘Japanese Science Fiction in Converging Media: Alienation and Neon Genesis Evangelion’. Conference paper presented at the Digital East Asia conference, Leiden University, December 2011 (co-authored with Carl Li and Martin Roth).

Publications